"Go inside and listen to your body, because your body will never lie to you. Your mind will play tricks, but the way you feel in your heart and in your guts, is the truth." Don Miguel Ruiz
Living Mindfully means present in the moment with purpose and kindness. Practicing Mindfulness means having choice in our lives about how to respond wisely in each moment, in each situation, as it is, rather than going into auto-pilot, or knee-jerk reactive patterns, or getting lost in old stories, Mindfulness helps us to become aware, to notice the patterns that no longer serve us, to grow personally, and also in our relationships with others.
Mindfulness doesn’t have to be hard or separate from daily life. It can live in the pause before you answer a text, the moment just before the kettle boils, in the simple act of listening.
It doesn't mean life is always peaceful and calm but you become more peaceful in how you move through life. instead of running on 'auto-pilot' - body in one place, (driving the car), mind in another (thinking of the future or the past) you are fully present in the moment. When stress arises your reactive patterns take a back seat and you meet stress skilfully. What you think, what you say and what you do are in alignment. People say they feel authentic, true to themselves and their deepest values.
And over time, something begins to soften. The space between reaction and response grows. Choices feel clearer. And life begins to feel a little more like home.
Reduce the type of stress that we know is bad for our health and well-being
Increase calm and balance
Make healthy decisions
Step off the hamster wheel
Take wise action
Maintain our health and well-being at all levels.
Improve sleep
Have authentic relationships, again, especially the relationship with yourself
Sandcastles If you've ever watched a young child going about everyday life, they are fully present and in the moment. Children are authentic and fully present in the natural ebb and flow of life. They laugh, they cry, they love, they are honest.
As we grow older it seems this natural flow gets interrupted or as Sharon McDowell says "we forget how we were before the world got its hands on us." There are times however when we are reminded of this natural flow, perhaps when taking a walk in the forest or by the sea, when we're engaged in an interesting work project or hobby, playing sport, listening to music, those times when we feel fully engaged and connected to what we are doing. But most people can connect with auto-pilot, burnout, or overwhelm, life is passing by so quickly we might wonder where we are for it.
Mindfulness can help us relearn to be in the moment , present to what's happening, now, and attending to the task at hand and being aware or what truly matters.
The good news is, retraining is possible. It just takes practice, commitment, and a little time to attend to yourself. Then, rather than the tendency to be on automatic pilot or running on a hamster wheel, we know how to self-calm, self-regulate and how express ourselves with ease and authenticity. Some people describe it as 'coming home'
The Science. Imagine, with a little daily discipline we can positively change the structure of our brain. Science has shown that after eight weeks of Mindful Meditation, grey matter in areas of the brain associated with stress, fight and flight reduces and in areas of the brain associated with calm, ease, focus, well-being, and decision-making grey matter is increased.
It's pretty amazing that we have it within us to change the structure of our own brain. That with Mindfulness and Meditation we can empower ourselves to better mental and physical health, that we can breathe and live a little more lightly.